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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26205397">Yes or No</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonymousfriend27/pseuds/anonymousfriend27'>anonymousfriend27</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Prompts Aug/Sep/Oct [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Affection, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Tags Are Hard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:59:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,817</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26205397</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonymousfriend27/pseuds/anonymousfriend27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>He knows.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>  <em>But what is he doing? How is he doing this? Why did I let him take me inside?</em></p><p> </p><p>Noah had his wrist gripped tightly, and he doubted he could escape if he tried. Might as well give up anyway. Still, he couldn’t quite calm his heart, couldn’t quite get past the fact that he might have to try and explain… himself. </p><p> </p><p>  <em>How do I get out of this? How do I explain myself to him when I don’t understand myself anyway?</em></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Prompts Aug/Sep/Oct [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1892869</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Yes or No</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h5>Notes</h5><p>Heyyy! This is late; my excuse? Um… nope, nothings coming to me.</p><p>To be fair <del>today</del>yesterday was my mother’s birthday and I cleaned up a lot of vomit- those two tasks are inexplicably related. Just… it’s fine.</p><p>Okay, well this is Prompt #2 of Aug/Sep/Oct! Next one is… some time in the future. Future me, please edit this- put some fancy font of it of something.</p>
<p></p><div class="futureAnony">
  <p>Edit: Wednesday 2nd September &gt;:3</p>
</div><p>Enjoy, and there’s a link to #1, the prompt list and the next prompt (once it’s up) in the end notes.</p>
<hr/><pre>Aaron was watching that kid again. The one who lived next door. Noah.

Sometimes he wished he could talk to him, because for some reason everyone liked him. A tall, dark-haired boy with broad shoulders came over and ruffled his hair. Noah squeaked, jumping at the contact, but turned with a dazzling smile and greeted the boy happily.

Noah was ultimately a people person. To the extreme. People always fussed over him, teachers and students alike, and he didn’t complain .

Aaron saw it everyday. He also knew that Noah wasn’t as innocent as he looked.Yes, Noah was very much a people-person, but he wasn’t a people-<em>pleaser</em>. He was smart, far too intelligent to let anyone else know. Skilled too. But clearly Noah wasn’t going to complain about a little attention if it kept him from the usual bullying someone… ‘like him’ would get. Aaron wasn’t judging- he’d do the same given the chance.

Every now and then, Noah would see him staring. He’d see the curiosity light up in his eyes and Aaron would be gone.
<hr/>
Noah was frustrated- Aaron always disappeared so easily. 

<em>Not this time.</em>

Can’t run away from your own house. 

Noah made sure he left before Aaron, running ahead just enough to catch him before he made his way inside. No escape. He smiled slightly evilly, wiping the expression away after a moment. 

Scanning the road, Noah squinted, seeing Aaron turning the corner.

He’d been waiting for too long for this. There was something more than the emotionless husk he presented himself as, Noah was sure. Every now and then, Noah would be the one watching Aaron and he’d see this subtle sadness in him, just enough to imply there was something going on behind his bulletproof exterior.

“Hey, Aaron!” He called, waving, “I wanna talk to you.”

“I don’t have time,” he replied, walking past. 

“Actually, you do,” Noah stated, “Your aunt isn’t home, you have no homework- trust me, I’ve been watching you all week- and no most importantly, no excuse not to talk to me.”

Aaron blinked at him blankly, “Let me rephrase, I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Too bad!” Noah yelled, grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him into his house.
<hr/>
<em>He knows.</em>
<em>But what is he doing? How is he doing this? Why did I let him take me inside?</em>

Noah had his wrist gripped tightly, and he doubted he could escape if he tried. Might as well give up anyway. Still, he couldn’t quite calm his heart, couldn’t quite get past the fact that he might have to try and explain… himself. 

<em>How do I get out of this? How do I explain myself to him when I don’t understand myself anyway?</em>
<hr/>“I don’t know how to answer that either…”

Noah regretted even trying. This guy… he was impossible. It wasn’t even that Aaron was evading his questions, just that he genuinely couldn’t answer them. Like he barely knew himself. 

“How about we play a game? Yes and no. Just answer yes or no,” he sighed finally, relieved to see Aaron nodding. He almost looked excited, like a little kid being offered ice cream. Noah wondered when the last time someone put any effort into talking to him was. <em>Maybe he’s not as cold as I thought…</em>

“Do you know why you stare at me so much?”
“No.”
“Is it just to be purposely creepy?”
“No.”
“Do you think it’s because… because I’m popular with everyone? Is that what you want?”
“Yes… and no.”
“Can you explain that to me?”

“I-” Aaron shook his head, seeming to be picking his words carefully. Noah waited, tensed in anticipation, “I- I don’t understand how you talk to people. I want… to be able to talk to people like you do, but I don’t even know how to explain that, never mind actually talk to anyone.”

“But that’s easy,” he said, “I just say whatever pops into my head. There’s nothing hard about saying ‘hello’.”

Aaron shook his head, staring at his hands, “It’s not just that, I’ve seen you. It’s hand gestures, and eye contact and body language.”

“Oh,” Noah replied quietly, “I see.”

After a moment, he smirked, “Sounds like you need a teacher!”

Noah looked up at him hopefully, but his face fell almost comically, “Where am I going to find one of those?”

He rubbed his eyes with one hand, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Lesson 1: Picking Up on Social Cues.”

“What?” Aaron says, “You? Why? I- uh-”

“Yes, me. Teaching you how to people. And…”

<em>Why? Why am I doing this?</em>

“Just because,” he finished.
<hr/>
“Are you here?” Noah asked, peaking around the corner to see if Aaron had got to their meeting place before him.

“Physically, yes. Mentally, debatable.” Aaron drawled from the shadows, making him bristle uneasily. He leant against a wall, steadying his heartbeat as Aaron started pacing.

“It’s been two months, Noah, and I can’t even keep eye contact with you for more than a minute.”

“Oh, come on! You’re making progress,” Noah told him, “It’s not gonna come quickly. You just have to be patient.”

Aaron sighed dramatically. For someone so emotionally constipated, his approach to his problems was rather theatrical.

“This is pointless. I’m useless,” Aaron said defeatedly, “Just stop wasting your time.”

Noah giggled and he whipped around to face him. “You find this funny?” He growled, “I’m glad one of us is having fun. Maybe that’s why you’re doing this- just to have something to laugh at!”

Eyebrows shooting straight up, he lifted his hands in surrender, “Woah, you’re annoyed but that doesn’t mean you can take it out on me!”

“You’re not denying it,” Aaron mumbled.

“That’s because it’s stupid,” Noah replied, rolling his eyes.

“Then why are you here?” He asked, glaring at him. Noah met his eyes and smiled gently, his friend clearly not realising what was happening. “Because you asked for help, Aaron, that’s why,” he answered calmly, “I know you don’t understand it, but I don’t have any motive other than to help someone who was alone and distancing himself from everyone.”

“You looked like you were hurting,” he admitted, “At first I watched you because you were watching me, but then I started to see more. More than all of this.”

He motioned to Aaron’s general attire,; black hoodie, blue jeans. Simple, unnoticeable. 

“Oh…” he said, frowning, “I’m sorry I shouted.”

“It’s okay,” Noah replied, “Besides, you’re clearly not making no progress at all.”

Aaron’s eyes widened, locked on him, as it had been through there entire argument. Five minutes of straight eye contact, of Aaron being able to say exactly how he felt. The intensity of his gaze was getting too much for even Noah though, and he awkwardly sent him some finger guns and a wink that had Aaron covering his face in embarrassment and Noah laughing once again.

Aaron smiled, and Noah felt a sense of deep satisfaction. <em>Not so pointless after all, huh?</em>
<hr/>
The boy leant closer to Noah’s face, bending his knees a little to be at his height. One of his friends sniggered at the height difference and Aaron clenched his fists to keep from moving.

This <em>never</em> happened. No one picked on Noah- that was like… like, committing a crime. Protecting little brother Noah was practically school law. 

He’d seen Aaron see him, and he’d shaken his head. Aaron wasn’t to interfere. Noah didn’t want him to do anything. It wasn’t his place to stand in the boys’ way. 

But Noah didn’t look like he didn’t want help… he looked scared and alone, and- 

“I hate this…” Aaron whispered breathlessly. For months- <em>months-</em> Noah had been trying to teach how to at least resemble a normal human and he was just going to leave his only friend to suffer? 

“I hate this,” He spat, far more sure of himself this time, “This is <em>wrong.</em>”

Before he could think of anything more, Aaron was moving; rolling his shoulders back and planting a fake smirk on his lips; straightening his spine, adding confidence to his usual hesitant stride- he blinked, and his eyes were hard and blank. His pulse racing, he swallowed, settling his breathing, pushing down his fear. This was what he did best. Pretending he was fine.

“Hey,” Aaron called, shoving the blond boy’s shoulder slightly, “Stop that.”

The boy turned with a very fake, very angry smile, “Why should I do that?”

Aaron tilted his head to the side slightly, shoving a hand into his pocket in an attempt to look bored, “Because it’s cruel and only someone incredibly stupid would do anything to the school’s ‘sunshine child’.”

Raising an eyebrow, the blond boy stepped forward threateningly. Aaron refused to move, meeting his gaze evenly, and the swagger in his stance faltered slightly. The corner of Aaron’s mouth twitched, and he caught Noah’s eye, searching for any sign of his earlier fear. 

Noah gave a subtle thumbs up, and Aaron fought to keep his grin from surfacing. This was working. It was going to to be okay. Just a little longer. 

“Who even are you?” The blond boy laughed, “I’ve never seen you before.”

Rolling his eyes, Aaron returned his gaze to the boy, “That’s because I’ve never wanted you to see me before. Hiding is in my blood- I get it from my mother, she was excellent at not being seen by commoners like you.”

“What?” 

He stepped back a little, obviously confused. Aaron studied the nails on his left hand, “Yeah, it’s an old tradition of ours. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of the blood-rituals my ancestors used to do?”

Everything was still and quiet for a moment, and Aaron silently prayed his plan would work. And that he could pull this off before his anxiety kicked back it. It had been a long time since he’d been confident enough to stand up to a bully… <em>years,</em> probably. Another moment passed, and he forced his eyes to remain open. 

<em>Don’t blink. Don’t blink and he won’t see how uneasy you are with everybody watching you. It’s just four people, and one of them is Noah. You can do this.</em>

One of the main boy’s friends nudged him, whispering something in his ear, and he couldn’t help but guess what they were going to do to him and Noah. Where they giving up? Where they going to hurt them? Or just hurt him and make Noah watch? What if they-

“You’re so weird.”

Aaron held his breath.

“Let’s go,” the blond boy mutters, “Leave the weirdo and the pretty boy to be losers together.”

They watched them leave, waiting until the last predatory stare was thrown back at them.
 
Shoulders slumping, Aaron let out a shaky breath, glancing around to make sure they were really alone, and fell to his knees. He pressed a hand to the floor, his fingers trembling, his chest tightening. The cold tile beneath him seemed to sink into his body, every part of him going numb. “Noah, I-”

Noah knelt in front of him, and put a hand over his own, braced against the floor. So warm. Aaron looked up slowly, eyes wide at the tears his friend’s sported. <em>He’s… crying? Is he angry I tried to help…? I shouldn’t have-</em>

“I’m so proud of you, Aaron,” Noah choked, “I can’t believe you did that for me.”

And then he launched himself at him, arms tight around Aaron’s neck, face pressed into his chest. “That must of been so hard for you to do,” he added, turning his head so his voice wasn’t muffled, “I'm sorry that I was too- too… <em>helpless</em> to help myself.” 

“I- uh-” Aaron stuttered, “It’s okay.”

His arms hung uselessly at his sides. A memory flashed through his mind; his father, dressed for work, he’ll be back later and he’s bringing dinner. Aaron’ll be fine with his aunt, his mum is coming to pick him up from school. His father’s embrace- his father’s… <em>last</em> embrace.

<em>A hug. This is a hug, idiot. Move.</em>

He was frozen. A statue. But he wanted it so badly. Aaron wanted to keep Noah there, in his arms and safe and warm and soft. He wanted return his hugs and he wanted to tell him it wasn’t his fault that the world is full of jerks like that blond kid. He wanted to explain that he wanted nothing more than to have him close, with him whenever he could.

<em>Then do it.</em>

And then Noah was pulling away, an apologetic look in his watery eyes, “I’m so sorry, you’re probably finding this uncomfortable… I’ll move-”

“No!” Aaron yelled, starling Noah. He lowered his voice, “I…”

<em>Do it, coward.</em>

“I can’t…” he said quietly, “I can’t explain it but I don’t want you to go. I just- the last person that hugged me- that I actually felt, I mean- was my parents, and now they're gone and I- I don’t really know how to- how to…”

Aaron shook his head hopelessly, “I know, I’m useless at emotions. This is probably too weird.”

Brows furrowed, Noah closed his eyes, a tear slowly rolling down his cheek. When he opened them again, they were filled with fury, “How could you possibly think this is too weird for me?”

Aaron shook his head again, eyeing his friend’s tears. Why did he want to reach out and dry them? Why did his own eyes suddenly sting too? Why was his throat clenched? Why did he ache so much?

“Aaron, look at me properly. Stop thinking whatever it is you’re thinking,” Noah rolled his eyes and Aaron laughed a little, earning a mock-serious look from him, “I just want you to answer yes or no, like we did before.”

“Okay,” he responded with a nod. Something familiar.

“So you wanted that hug- it didn’t make you want to go?”

“Yes,” he replied, cheeks flushed.

Noah chuckled, smiling at him, “It embarrasses you? Wanting affection?”

Aaron looked at his hands, fidgeting with the hem of his hoodie, “No. Yes- but no.” Throwing his head back in frustration, he tried to collect his thoughts, tried to organise them, to see what he really wanted.

“Why did you blush then?” Noah asked, “Can you tell me?”

“I want to respond, but I don’t know how. I-” That ache again. It swelled up inside him and he crossed an arm across his chest to clutch at his shoulder- anything to stop the pain. But it didn’t stop, it just built and built until he felt like nothing would hold it in anymore.

And then nothing could. 

“When you hugged me I couldn’t move and I hate myself for it!” He sobbed. Noah was silent, and Aaron didn’t dare look at him. He felt almost pleased for a moment- <em>tears.</em> Real tears flowing from <em>his</em> eyes, falling on <em>his</em> hands. Even if he made a fool out of himself, at least he had that now. It had been a while.

Noah got to him feet- <em>oh, he’s leaving-</em> and pulled Aaron up with him. Aaron risked a look at his friend’s face, confused by the determination he saw. “Then I’ll just have to tell you what to do, and you’ll have to listen,” Noah told him confidently, “How about we try that?”

Before Aaron could answer, Noah was in his arms again. Well, not quite. He’d wrapped himself around his waist this time, nuzzling into his chest again. He was sure that he’d feel him trembling, holding back another hiccuping sob, but he wasn’t sure he really cared. 

“Just put your arms around me, Aaron, it’s easy,” came Noah’s instruction, “It doesn’t matter if you get it wrong. It’s just me.”

<em>It’s just Noah.</em> He moved, and gasped in relief. He'd done it.

“Thank you,” he muttered and pulled Noah tight against him, “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.”
</pre>
<hr/><h5>Notes</h5><p>Hello again. Hope you had fun :3</p><p>Please review and leave some kudos so I can be happy-</p><p>Its late-early again… I- someone take my laptop away.</p><p>
  <b>Anyway-</b>
</p><p>Today you get an extra: a highlight of all my best typos…</p><p> ‘awkwarding’, ‘buxxlinb’, ‘friendses’ and the finale… ‘unstickton’</p><p>Prompts List: <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26073586">Aug/Sep/Oct Prompts</a></p><p>First: <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26132398">In Flames, I Found You</a></p>
<p></p><div class="futureAnony">
  <p>Next: <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26259721">That Which You Fear</a></p>
</div>
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